Second World War veteran Robert Burgener was only 17 years old when he enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).That was roughly the same age as many of the students in attendance at a Wednesday morning Remembrance Day memorial at Malvern Collegiate Institute (MCI).
The Malvern Red and Black Society, the local high school's alumni association, invited Burgener to share some of his wartime experiences during the special assembly.
Wilfred Bauman, from the class of 1942, also shared his story with the school's junior students.
Despite feeling a little bit nervous about speaking before such a big crowd, Burgener said he feels that wartime stories, like his, should be remembered.
"It's important to remember the struggles, the sacrifices of our troops," said the charming octogenarian at a small reception following the memorial.
"The world was different then when we went overseas. We couldn't get back until the war ended."
Burgener said that today anyone can literally get anywhere in the world in just two days and for about the cost of a month's pay.
"Back in World War II, we weren't sure when we'd return," he said.
Burgener, who served as a flying officer in the RCAF, was one of the lucky ones who made it home.
More than 100 Malvernites, including some of his friends and fellow classmates, died during the two world wars.
A graduate of MCI's class of 1944, Burgener lived on Willow Avenue as a teen. Following the war, he married his wife of 61 years, Jean, and together they raised four now-adult children in Scarborough.
During his brief speech, Burgener spoke briefly about what life was like for a soldier during wartime.
He shared that many local kids, like himself, hadn't travelled more than 50 miles from their homes and were suddenly thrust across Canada for training and shipped overseas.
"Many of us from Malvern (Collegiate) were only 17 years old," he shared, adding that many who paid the price for our freedom today are buried in foreign soil forever.
"It's something you did in those days. You joined up."
Carefully clutching his decades-old dog-tags, Burgener said the war was a time when romances were often forced to end just as quickly as they began, leading to the many "dreamy" tunes from the era and that back then letters were the form of communication one used for staying in touch with one's loved ones and love interests.
Grade 10 student Kristen Tuuer, a member of the school's colour guard who participated in the memorial, said the wartime efforts of Canada's military service people should not be forgotten.
"A lot of people gave their lives for us and we should remember them," she said. "I think their stories are really interesting."
Mike Izzo, a social studies teacher, has organized Remembrance Day events at the school for the last three years.
"We all enjoy freedom and sometimes lose sight of the freedom we have. (Remembrance Day) reminds us of how privileged we are," said Izzo, who gave a special multimedia presentation called Malvern Remembers WWII during the service.
"We're so lucky here being such an old school with such a rich history that we can make the connections between the generations."
Grade 11 students Katie Muekusch and Nellie Labovitz read a text during the memorial from the perspective of former Malvernite Margaret Jean Smeaton, killed on April 5, 1943 after the ship she was travelling on was bombed while crossing the Atlantic. Smeaton, whose maiden name was Armstrong, was en route to England to join her husband James. The girls are part of a group of 21 students and two teachers who travelled to Normandy, France last spring to visit the site of the 1944 D-Day invasion. Four Malvern students lost their lives as a result of the battles to liberate Europe.
Malvern Collegiate's concert band as well as its vocal ensemble also contributed to the event as did bagpiper Kerry Buker.